Extraordinary supervision at the Split State Attorney's Office after indictment against journalist

After a meeting at the Split Municipal State Attorney's Office, Chief State Attorney Ivan Turudić requested extraordinary supervision over the work of that state attorney's office due to the indictment against journalist Danka Derifaj, a cameraman and a resident of a building that took four years to complete.

Ivan Turudić visited the Split Municipal State Attorney's Office to review the indictment charging journalist Danka Derifaj, a cameraman and a resident of the building with the criminal offense of violating the privacy of Marko Perković Thompson's home after they entered the roof terrace that the singer claims is his property.

A four-year procedure

“We did not question the content of the indictment that was autonomously brought by the Deputy Municipal State Attorney in Split, Mandarić, and there is nothing to object to in that decision, except that the state attorney can give mandatory instructions on how to proceed in a specific case. She did not receive such an instruction, she acted in accordance with the law and her authority, however, the procedure lasted four years, which is unacceptable because the file had to be resolved in a month or two,” said Turudić.

According to him, the next omission is that no one was informed about the case, and based on the State Attorney's Office Act, this was necessary.

No one was informed

“If the deputy had done this, she would have made her own position easier,” Turudić argued.

He reminded that the indictment was filed on June 12 of this year, and not, as "the Croatian Journalists Association maliciously claims, before the Assumption, on August 13 or 14". He added that the indictment was filed before Thompson's major concerts in Zagreb and Sinj.

“In connection with the event to which the indictment refers, a criminal complaint for unauthorized recording was also filed against the same people. The criminal complaint was dismissed, and no one noted that there were two decisions in the same event,” Turudić said. He believes that this is not about obstruction in the state attorney's office in Split, but "more about the irregular performance of duty", and the consequences of this will be decided on when the nature of the violation is determined.

He recalled that in May this year, a consultation was held in Šibenik for state attorneys' offices at all levels, and it was concluded that special attention should be paid to cases older than three years. He added that there are about five thousand such cases throughout Croatia.

The Croatian Journalists Association previously condemned the decision of the state attorney's office in Split to file an indictment for violating the inviolability of the home of singer Marko Perković Thompson, against journalist Danka Derifaj, cameramen Petar Janjić and Branko Miodrag, describing it as dangerous and an attack on media freedom.

Source: HRT